" Before he passed , my Logos mention that he was ' think about proposing ' … In a later conversation , he mentioned plans to update his lifespan insurance because he would n’t desire to impart a wife with nothing . That ’s all that was ever said about it — patently , he passed before he ever decided to propose . "
For many people who are thinking about starting a family or already have one, taking out a life insurance plan offers a little peace of mind. Nobody likes to think about their own death too much, but having life insurance helps guarantee that your loved ones will still be able to afford their housing, pay off debts or medical bills you left behind, and are just all-around taken care of.
And that was the plan one Reddit user’s son had when he took out a life insurance plan with his girlfriend and future family in mind. Unfortunately, though, he unexpectedly died. Now, his father and mother are questioning whether they’re right to keep all of the insurance payout for themselves.
Note : The original tale was share byu / GrievingDad26on theAm I the Asshole subreddit , but the post was take away by Reddit ’s spam filter . The post and responses have beenarchivedby moderators for viewing .
Here’s thestoryin the father’s words:
“My son Eric passed away in an accident in October of last year. He was 33. He wasn’t married, but he lived with his girlfriend (Emily) of only two years. She just turned 30. They purchased their home together in June of last year. The house was $525,000, and they put down $225,000. They each paid half of the down payment and had been splitting the mortgage equally, as well as all of the rest of their bills,” the father explained.
" She make about $ 80,000 per year after taxis . The house mortgage is $ 1,775 per month . "
“My son has a life insurance policy that paid out $750,000. About six months before he passed, my son mentioned that he was ‘thinking about proposing,’ but it would ‘be a few years before we actually married.’ In a later conversation, he mentioned plans to update his life insurance because he wouldn’t want to leave a wife with nothing. That’s all that was ever said about it — obviously, he passed before he ever decided to propose. This means the entire life insurance went to me and my wife.”
“My wife and I are both in our late 50s. We usually do OK financially, but losing our son has completely shaken our worlds, and we’ve been taking some time off of work to process and grieve,” he continued. “This money will allow us to pay off the rest of our mortgage, take stress off of our lives while we grieve, and hopefully retire a couple years earlier than we intended — we both have medical struggles so this is a big deal.”
“Our other son, Mike, came over for dinner yesterday, and we mentioned that we received Eric’s life insurance payout. He went quiet for a minute and asked how much we’re going to give Emily. We explained that we have good intentions to use the money to make our lives easier going forward — this is why our son left it to us, to help out should anything tragic happen. Later, Mike said he understands that we’re grieving, but we’re selfish and narcissistic for not considering how tough this is for Emily and not even helping her by giving her enough to pay off Eric’s share of the house.”
" He say we ’re kidding ourselves if we think Eric would have want this . I ’ve test to keep emotions out of it and amaze to the fact . All of us — my married woman , son , rest of the syndicate , and Emily — are utterly devastated by Eric ’s loss . I do n’t want hoi polloi to think I ’m hardhearted . "
After reading the post, commenters immediately tried knocking sense into the father. They reiterated that the life insurance was taken out with his son’s girlfriend specifically in mind so that she wouldn’t struggle in the son’s absence — and now the parents are leaving her high and dry.
" The ' purpose ' of sprightliness insurance is to replace the income lose that a deceased loved one would ’ve contribute , " useru / Fittest_Hypnotistsaid . " He was contribute to his family with his lady friend . Unless he was paying your bills , he was n’t contributing to yours . His girlfriendneedsthe money to maintain her current lifestyle . You are sample to enhance yours with it . You are being selfish . It ’s unhinged you wo n’t give her anything . "
Emphasizing this point, others called the father and mother selfish and deplorable for so easily casting their intended daughter-in-law aside.
" The begetter literally had a conversation with the deceased about his purport to propose , " useru / pinpoesaid . " Now , he ’s tossing this grieve woman who was becoming part of his family to the side just because some fatty dollar signs flew his way ? She built a bloody spirit with your son , keep going and nourish and loved him , and altered the row of her life for him . But yeah . Enjoy your paid - off mortgage , you monster . "
However, not everyone felt as though Emily was entitled to the full $750,000. In the wake of a tragedy that rocked everyone in the family, some users felt the parents should split the money with her.
" Eric ’s half of the household would be $ 150k . There may be other debts that he shared with Emily that he left behind , so let ’s round off that number up to an even $ 200k . That ’s a very generous idea , " useru / tan_sandovalsaid . " So , doing right by Emily would cost you $ 200k . You meet $ 750k . It SHOULD be a no - brainer to do the correct matter by Emily . You know it ’s what your son would have wanted ; you still walk with $ 550k , and now you know Emily is not in a hard situation financially . If $ 550k is n’t enough for you that you still need to compass at that last $ 200k and leave the cleaning lady your son wanted to marry in a bad spot , you need to have a tone in the mirror . "
Splitting, people said, is the least they could do — especially when considering that Eric intended for her to have all of it.
" I can see observe some of it , BUT retain THE WHOLE matter ? Eric ’s most obvious straightaway responsibility is to his lady friend , in damage of their mortgage and his normal 50 % of expenses . I would say anything less than 50 % of the payout pass away to her would be an asshole move,“u / rpslsadded . " And if [ your ] son had lived long enough to actually do the update he ’d design on , it would have been all of it , and possibly he would have go out program line to his lady friend to help his parent . So , imagine what you might passably expect from her if the post was reversed . "
And though no one argued that Eric’s brother should be given a portion, they did feel like this would be a make or break moment between his brother and their parents.
" The father necessitate to bring in that if they DON’T give something to Emily , they ’re jeopardizing their kinship with their other son . He ’s go to alter how he looks at his parents based on there actions now,“u / StrangledInMoonlightsaid .
